Burning Flame
by Shevil
Summary: That was the last time he had laid eyes on the girl who had stolen his heart, who had pulled him with her every step on their tarnished, bloodstained golden brick road, until there was nothing of the path left. The road had ended on a cliff, but who had fallen off? He wasn't sure. *Katarina/Talon One-Shot*


**Hi! This is a just a short one-short that I wrote... My inspiration for this (and the prequel to this) was the fact that I main Kat and my boyfriend mains Talon :)**

 **I hope you enjoy it!**

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She flipped her hair behind her shoulders, the wind blowing softly against her face and assisting her in motion. The sun's rays reflected upon her crimson hair, dressing her with a flaming halo. It mesmerized him. She turned her head and caught his eyes.

She said nothing; instead, she smiled, and laughed. Her voice was melodious to his ears, something intangible that he wanted to grasp and never let go of. In that moment, that was _exactly_ what he wanted to do.

He wanted to grab her, and never let her go.

But, he never had the chance to do that. Because, at that thought, her laughter died. She fell silent, and she met his eyes again. Those eyes that were a glittering green only moments ago, were now dull and grey and lifeless.

 **"I love you, Talon. Why did you ever let me go?"** Her voice was no longer the magical melody he remembered, but rather like a nail scratching on a chalkboard.

He reached out to hold her back, to do something, anything, to stop her from walking away.

But it was too late; she dissipated into tiny particles, exploded into a billion red sparks. When the sparks fluttered down to the ground, it burned away the scenery – perfect warm colored leaves, an even blue sky, the fluffy cumulus clouds, the lush green grass, and the sparkling lake – until Talon was left isolated in an infinite smoky space.

He had failed again. He had failed to keep her, and she had disappeared. He had let the love of his life go again.

–~~~~~~~~~~~–

Talon was met with complete darkness when he came to reality. He was no longer in his dreamscape; he was made aware when he glanced over to his right. On the wall, her could just barely make out the two hands of the clock.

 _2:00_

He sighed. Another sleepless night, dreams of _her_ plaguing his mind. It had been a few days in a row now, the same girl reappearing in his dreams, telling him that she loved him.

Of course, Talon knew exactly who this girl was. He knew every detail about her, just as she knew every detail about him.

 _Katarina._

Her name rang too loudly in his ears; it had been too long since he thought about her; he knew what would happen if he did.

His heart clenched tightly in his chest, and for a brief second, he felt as if he couldn't breathe. He couldn't stand it anymore. He pushed the sheets off of his body and quickly dressed himself in a shirt and his cloak.

As he walked, echoes of his footsteps sounded through the empty manor. He sighed softly as he walked towards his damned liquor cabinet. He couldn't help himself as he opened the small door and, without even turning the light on, reached inside, retrieving a short, stout bottle.

 _It was her favorite: Rabble Rouser Rum._

Talon soon found himself drinking outside on the highest balcony of the du Couteau Manor, just as he and Katarina had spent so many nights on so many years ago. He stood right against the edge of the rail, one arm hanging lazily over the dark Noxian streets below while the other gripped the liquor bottle tightly, as if it was his lifeline.

He remembered those streets, the days when he and Katarina were the king and queen of Noxus, the most feared assassins in the country. Something cold pressed against his side as he leaned even more over the rail, trying to pick out the individual streets and replay scenes from his long ago past. A gasp escaped his lips when he went to see what it was and pulled it from a small pocket in his cloak.

It was one of Katarina's small daggers, adorned with black flowery designs. The dulled metal of the blade barely reflected the bright moonlight, struggling to stay alive. He turned it over between his fingers several times and tried to rub the silver with his thumb, attempting to polish it. When he could no longer stand looking down at the somber and lonely blade, he looked up to the sky.

He had taken one too many sips from the open bottle. His vision danced and twirled in an endless abyss; stars no longer glittered in his eyes the way he remembered them when he was with Katarina. The night sky they once seen as their continuously changing canvas had now run dry and had begun to crack and chip, the darkness had begun to set in when she left.

Katarina was his stars. She was the burning flame in his world. She was the light of his life.

A light breeze rippled through the dry atmosphere, caressing the lost boy from behind. He leaned backwards into it, truly believing it was the open arms of his absent lover.

Talon staggered backwards once he realized it was Katarina's false presence, replaced by an invisible entity. It sobered him up some: enough to feel the negligible feelings, but not enough for him to remember. It didn't matter, because the inevitable feelings alone were the most sobering factor of all for Talon.

 **"I'm leaving tomorrow."** He remembered Katarina's stricken features when she said those words. **"I need to go find my sister and father** **."** Her voice was cracking and breaking with every word.

Talon made a last futile attempt to lighten their atmosphere, as he always did before. **"** **Let me go with you.** **"** His voice became a whisper, conveying his words to her in secret. **"We could take that trip we've always wanted to take."**

Katarina stared for only a moment, deep green eyes piercing his dark ones. She lifted her hands and placed one on each side of his face, drawing him into her. She shook his head. **"I'm sorry, Talon. This is something I need to do alone."** A stray tear escaped the corner of her eye, and trickled down her cheek, leaving behind a glistening trail of apologies. **"I love you."**

 _The first and last time she'd said those words, and I never said them back to her._

That was the last time he had laid eyes on the girl who had stolen his heart, who had pulled him with her every step on their tarnished, bloodstained golden brick road, until there was nothing of the path left. The road had ended on a cliff, but who had fallen off? He wasn't sure.

Perhaps it was him, a once headstrong soldier turned heartbroken alcoholic; or her, a cunning seductress wanting nothing more than something everlasting.

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 **If you made it all the way down here, thanks for reading my story! :3 If I get a really positive response from you guys, I'm going to post the prequel to this one-shot in the future...**

 **So if you like the story, leave me a review or give me a follow and/or favorite! Thanks for all the support(hehe xD)!**

 **Shevil**


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